Vol. 13 No. 3 (1987): XIII - 1987, fascicolo 3
Articoli

Description by Negation. History of a Thought-Pattern in Ancient Accounts of Blissful Life

Published 2016-09-19

Keywords

  • Ancient literature,
  • blissful life,
  • mythology

Abstract

Ancient literature, from archaic Greek epic down to Christian writers, tends to describe blissful life (be it in the Elysian fields, in the Islands of the Blessed, or in Paradise) by negation: in particular, stating that such ideal condition is exempt from all kinds of troubles affecting human beings.